Dry cleaning of rounded objects



Oct. 1, 1963' J. SHAW DRY CLEANING 0F ROUNDED OBJECTS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 1, 1959 l I l l I I I l l I I IL lNvEN'roR JOHN SHAW JWMMN ATTOENEY Oct. 1, 1963 Y J. SHAW 3,105,253

DRY CLEANING 0F ROUNDED OBJECTS Filed June 1, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet? INVENTQR JOHN Shaw Oct. 1, 1963 J. SHAW 3, 1

DRY CLEANING OF ROUNDED OBJECTS 7 Filed June 1, 1959 s Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR JOHN SHAW BY JWMM AT-mRNEY United States Patent 3,165,253 DRY CLEANENG 0F ROUNDED OBJECTS John Shaw, Downend, Bristoi, England, assignor to The Tungum Qompany Limited, Arie, England Fiied .iune 1, 1959, Ser. No. 817,390 Ciaims priority, application Great Britain June 3, 1958 7 Claims. (Cl. 15-3319) This invention relates to the dry cleaning of rounded objects, more especially eggs.

The dry cleaning of dirty eggs, instead of cleaning by washing, is being increasingly insisted upon inasmuch as dry cleaning does not remove from their shells the natural sealing materials which act to prevent bacteria entering the eggs and setting up rot and mould. However, the only available mechanical means for the dry cleaning of eggs consists of a rotary mop mounted on the spindle of an electric motor. To the mop an abrasive compound is applied by hand and the eggs are offered one at a time to the mop. This is a laborious and tedious process and the present invention has for its object to provide an improved and simplified dry cleaning machine and an associated method for the mass dry cleaning of eggs and other rounded objects for which it is suited.

According to the invention a machine for the dry cleaning of rounded objects comprises a movable mop or brush element, means for traversing a rounded object, for example an egg, past and in engagement with an operative surface of the element along a path which extends in the general direction of movement of the engaged portion of the surface whilst being brushed thereby, and means for applying a braking torque to the object so that it rotates, when in engagement with the surface, with a peripheral speed considerably less than the speed of movement of the surface.

Preferably the said mop or brush element comprises a rotary mop with its outer periphery contoured to suit the shape of the object and forming the operative surface, and said path lies in ,a plane normal to the rotational axis of the mop. The means for traversing the object preferably include a carriage by which the object is supported whilst in contact with the outer periphery of the mop, the object being traversed along an arcuate path in contact with the mop. This arcuate path may extend around a major portion of the outer periphery of the mop.

The carriage may be in the form of a turret rotatably mounted about the axis of the rotary mop and provided with a series of equiangularly spaced pockets in which a plurality of objects may be supported in contact with the outer periphery of the mop. The pockets are disposed in an angularly spaced series around an annular zone encircling the mop and they may be open in both radial directions and surrounded on the outside, over the are around which objects are maintained in contact with the mop, by a pre-tensioned brake band forming part of the means which provide the braking torque. The turret is rotated at a much slower speed than the mop whilst the brake band is held stationary, so that an object is in effect rolled along the inner surface of the brake band at a relatively low speed whilst being brushed by the rotary brush.

When the objects to be cleaned are of substantially ellipsoidal shape the brake band is preferably of resilient material, for example foam rubber. In some cases it may be desirable that the brake band he endless and itself driven, so that in effect the object rolls along a slowly moving surface which increases the number of revolutions made by the object whilst being brushed by the mop.

The carriage is preferably provided with support means control-led in dependence upon the angular position of the carriage, the arrangement being such that an object can be placed in an empty pocket of the carriage whereupon it is supported by the support means clear of the outer periphery of the mop and on rotation of the carriage is gradually lowered into engagement with the mop, such engagement taking place after the object has passed beneath and into engagement with the brake band.

Preferably the object engages with the frictional surface of the brake band just before it engages with the mop periphery. When stationary the brake band may have a leading portion of increased flexibility which engages with the object and acts to hold the latter in its pocket during a considerable portion of its lowering movement towards the mop whilst imparting a negligible frictional torque to the object.

A machine provided with support means controlled in the above manner is especially suitable for use with a fragile object such as an egg, the gradual lowering by the support means bringing the egg gently into engagement with the mop and the portion of the brake band of increased flexibility holding the egg firmly in its pocket without imparting an excessive load on the egg before it is firmly seated in its pocket in engagement with the mop periphery.

Preferably the support means comprise spacer elements of the carriage which define the egg-receiving pockets thereof, and which over the operative portion of the mop periphery are disposed radially of the carriage whilst over .a portion of the mop periphery immediately preceding such operative portion are so inclined that the radially inner width of a corresponding pocket is restricted and an object placed therein is held clear of the mop periphery. Control of the support means, by varying the inclination of the spacer elements in dependence upon their angular position relatively to the mop, may be achieved using a stationary cam plate or track disposed alongside the carriage. The spacer elements may be pivotally mounted in the carriage adjacent their radially outer ends and be individually connected to link arms which carry at their free ends rollers running in said cam track.

Preferably the objects are fed to and delivered from the pockets of the carriage by gravity, along inclined supply and delivery chutes. The supply chute, in which a supply of objects is maintained by an operator, is preferably disposed at an upper level of the turret so as to deliver the objects singly and in turn into the pockets in the turret as these are successively presented to the lower end of the chute.

The delivery chute is preferably disposed at a lower level of the machine immediately below the supply chute, both chutes being disposed at the front of the machine within easy reach of the operator. The delivery chute may be arranged so that rounded objects, when they reach the end of the brake band, roll oh? the brake band on to the inlet end of the delivery chute.

In a method of dry cleaning a rounded object, for example an egg, according to the invention, the object is traversed past and in engagement with a moving mop or brush surface along a path which extends in the general direction of movement of the engaged portion of the brush surface, and a braking torque is applied to the object whilst it is being brushed so that it rotates with a peripheral speed considerably less than the speed of movement of said surface during its contact therewith.

Preferably the brush surface is contoured to suit the shape of the object and rotates about its central axis, and the object is traversed along a path which lies in a plane at right angles to this central axis. The braking torque may conveniently be applied by contact between the object and a stationary braking surface.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by Way of example, an egg dry cleaning machine in accordance with the invention, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a left-hand side view of the framework of the machine with certain components shown in outline in their assembled positions,

FIGURE 2 is a rear view of the framework,

FIGURE 3 is a partly cut-away part sectional rear view of the upper portion of the egg cleaning machine.

FIGURE 4 is a similar view from the left-hand side of the machine,

FIGURE 5 is a view generally similar to that of FIG- URE 4 and showing a modification of the machine, and

FIGURE 6 illustrates a flexible brake band of the machine.

The machine is completely enclosed, having a casing formed by side panels attached to the framework wihch comprises two similar tubular side supports 1 of inverted U shape. These supports are connected together by upper and lower fabricated frames, 2 and 3 respectively, which are welded in position between them and fabricated from angle-section material. The lower ends of the supports 1 form feet for the machine which is of a height such that eggs can comfortably be supplied to and removed from the machine by an operator seated in front of the latter. The machine is capable of cleaning eggs at a rate in excess of 1,000 per hour.

A laterally extending mop spindle 4 is rotatably mounted in two space bearing pedestals 5 bolted to the upper frame 2 within the machine casing, and carries at its left-hand end a rotary soft cloth mop 6. The mop 6 has a contoured outer periphery and is clamped up on the spindle 4 between a thrust washer 7 and a rubber disc 8 by a nut 9 removal of which enables the mop to be withdrawn from the spindle 4 for replacement or cleaning. The washer 7 serves for axial location of the spindle 4 in one direction and is retained thereon by means of a set screw 10. A driven pulley 11 is retained on the spindle 4 adjacent the other end of the latter by means of another set screw 12 and provides axial location for the spindle in the opposite direction.

The cloth mop 6 is formed in the conventional manner from a plurality of coaxial annular layers of a suitable textile fabric, and the rubber disc 8 has an inwardly thickened rim 13 which results in the disc being deformed to an outwardly concave shape when the nut 9 is tightened. During rotation of the spindle 4 the disc 8, under the influence of centrifugal force, tends to assume its free planar form and as a result provides an inward axial thrust on the end of the mop 6. This thrust tends to press the textile layers of the mop together to retain its free compact form.

An annular turret backplate 14 which is coaxial with the spindle 4 is bolted to one end of a stepped sleeve 15 disposed coaxially around the spindle and rotatably mounted on the latter by ball bearings 16 which are axially located between the washer and the adjacent bearing pedestal 5. Bolted to the opposite end of the sleeve is a coaxial friction drive wheel 17 through which the turret is driven. A series of equiangularly spaced and inwardly directed spacer elements such as 18 are mounted on the left-hand face of the backplate 14 in an annular zone surrounding the outer periphery of the mop 6. These spacer elements 18 define egg receiving pockets in which eggs are transported in succession, as shown at 19 in FIGURE 4, around the periphery of the mop 6 as the turret rotates.

In cross section the elements 18, in corresponding axial planes of the turret, approximate to a half-longitudinal section of a typical egg and the outer periphery of the mop 6 is concavely contoured to correspond to the adjacent contour of the spacer elements 18. In cross section in planes parallel to the backplate 14 the elements are wedge-shaped, the wedge angle being such that the opposing faces of two adjacent elements, which define one of the egg-receiving pockets, are substantially parallel in any such cross-sectional plane. Thus as the mop 6 wears, and eggs as they are cleaned are disposed around a pitch circle of decreased :diametena given size of egg still has the same lateral clearance in the pockets. The side faces of the elements 18 are contoured, having a central more or less flat portion bounded on either side by outwardly curved portions which locate the eggs in the pockets laterally in the plane of the turret.

, The elements 18, which are built up from sheet material bent around and attached to tubular members 29 and have their outer surfaces covered with a resilient layer of foam rubber, form part of support means and are pivotally supported adjacent their radially outer edges on equiangularly disposed spindles such as 21 which pass through the tubular members 20 and are fixed to and project normally from the backplate 14. Each spindle 21 has a large head 21a and the corresponding tubular member 20 is axially located between this head and the backplate 14. A trailing link arm such as 22 is fixed to each of the tubular members 20 and carries at its outer end a freely rotatable roller such as '23 which overhangs the backplate 14. The rollers 23 of all the arms 22 run in a stationary endless cam track 24 formed in a cast annular cam block 25 disposed parallel to and on the right-hand side of the backplate 14.

The cam block 25 surrounds the sleeve 15 and is mounted on the upper frame 2. A sheet metal partition 26 disposed fore and aft across the casing below the cam block 25 to which it is fixed, together with a resilient sealing ring 27 between the block 25 and the backplate 14, serves effectively to divide the casing into two compartments, the left-hand of which contains the turret and mop and forms an egg cleaning compartment and the other of which contains the motorized drive of the machine.

Over slightly more than the rear half of its outer periphery the turret is surrounded by a flexible brake band 29 which at its upper end is detachably anchored to the framework of the machine at 30 above and slightly forward of the spindle 4, and which at its lower end extends around a roller 31 disposed below and slightly in "front of the spindle 4 to a tensioning weight 32 which hangs freely within the leasing and is connected by means of hooks 33 to the belt. The weight 32 pre-tensions the brake band 29 which presses upon eggs contained in the pockets of the turret over the arc thereof which is surrounded by the brake band and serves to maintain the engagement between these eggs and the periphery of the mop 6.

An inclined supply chute 28, in which the operator maintains by hand a supply of uncleaned eggs, passes through an aperture at an upper level of the casing in the plane of the mop 6. The lower end of this chute is arranged so that eggs are delivered singly and in turn into empty pockets of the turret as these are successively presented during rotation of the latter. The eggs are delivered into the pockets just before the latter reach their top dead centre position, the direction of rotation of the turret being the same as that of the brush and anti-clockwise when viewed from the left-hand side of the machine.

After an egg has been delivered into a pocket from the supply chute 28 further rotation of the turret carries the egg rearwardly over the top dead centre position of the turret and around the rear half of the mop periphery in engagement with the band 29. An inclined delivery chute 34, also arranged in the plane of the mop 6, extends through an aperture in the front of the casing and delivers cleaned eggs by gravity into an integral tray from which cleaned eggs are removed by the operator. The upper end of the chute 34 is disposed just in front of the band 29 where it passes over the roller 31, and the arrangement is such that rotation of the turret carries the egg some distance past the bottom dead centre position of the turret whereupon it rolls off the band 29 away from the mop 6 and into the upper end of the delivery chute 34.

As shown in FIGURE 6, the brake band 29, which comprises a strip of foam rubber, has cemented to its inner surface two spaced lengths of textile fabric 35. At their upper ends these strips are cut away to leave free a wide area 36 of the foam rubber, and an egg engages this area after it enters a pocket of the turret and before it is firmly seated in the latter in engagement with the mop periphery. The area 36 is naturally of greater flexibility than the remainder of the band 29 and obviates the danger of an excessive inward thrust being applied to the egg when disposed in the turret some distance away from the mop 6. The narrow area of the hand between the two textile strips 35 provides a flexible area in the region of the major diameter portion of an egg while being cleaned.

Around the operative portion of the mop periphery, which extends from a point located about 45 past dead centre of the turret to a point near the bottom of the mop 6 at which, as described above, it is delivered to the upper end of the delivery chute 34, the cam track 24 is of circular form concentric with the spindle 4 and the spacer elements 18 are disposed radially inwardly of the turret. Over this portion of the mop periphery the eggs are held in contact with the latter by the brake band 29. During rotation of the turret the eggs are rolled along the operative surface of the brake band at a speed dependent merely on the speed of rotation of the turret whilst being cleaned by the mop 6.

The major portion 24a. of the cam track 24-, which as just described is of circular form, merges in the direction of turret rotation, at a point slightly above the level of the mop spindle 4 in the forward half of the track 24, with a portion 24b which is inwardly inclined in the radial sense. 'lh's inwardly inclined portion 24b merges into a following outwardly inclined portion 24c which in turn merges into a substantially arcuate portion 24:! which is very slightly inwardly inclined and disposed at a greater radius from the turret axis than the major circular portion 240. The arrangement is such that when an egg is delivered from the inclined supply chute 28 into an empty pocket of the turret, as described above, the roller 23 of the leading spacer element 18 of that empty pocket has just entered the arcuate portion 24d of the cam track and the roller 23 of the trailing spacer element 18 of that pocket is just entering said outwardly inclined portion 24c of the cam track 24, as illustrated in FIGURE 4. The result is that both these spacer elements 18 are inclined inwardly of the corresponding pocket from their normal radial positions, and combine to support an egg fed from the supply chute 28 so that it is held clear of the mop periphery.

As the turret rotates, the roller 23 of the corresponding trailing spacer element 13 runs along the outwardly inclined portion 240 of the cam track until it enters the arcuate portion 24d thereof which occurs just before the roller 23 of the corresponding leading spacer element 13 leaves the arcuate portion 24d. In this position the egg is still held clear of the mop periphery by the leading spacer element 18 of the pocket, though it has now passed under the upper anchored end of the brake band 2 which holds it firmly in its pocket; the next following pocket is now in position to receive the next egg from the delivery chute 28. On further rotation of the turret the roller 23 of the leading spacer element 13 of the pocket being considered runs along a short inwardly iriclined portion 24c of the cam track which merges into the main circular portion 24a thereof, and as it does so the spacer element 18 gradually turns to its radial position so that the egg is gradually lowered into engagement with the mop 6. The surface of the brake band 29 is so disposed as to be engaged by each egg before the latter engages the mop periphery, so that cleaning of an egg does 5 not commence before a braking torque is applied thereto by the brake band 29.

Should an egg break whilst being cleaned, for example as a result of supplying a cracked egg to the machine, the mop 6 and the band 29 can readily be removed for cleaning. For this purpose, the casing has a removable left-hand side panel which, when removed, allows the mop 6 to be withdrawn from the machine after removing the nut 9 and the band 25? to be unhooked from its anchorage at 30 and also removed. Before use the surface of the brake band 29 is dusted with French chalk.

An electric motor 37 for driving the machine is bolted to a frame 38 which is pivotally mounted on the lower frame 3. The frame 38 is shown in its operative posi tion in FIGURE 1 in which it is sup-ported by two V belts 39 and 4t engaging around a stepped pulley of the motor 3'7. Thus the weight of the motor 37 and the framework 33 serves to tension the belts 39 and 40. The belt 39 couples the motor pulley to the aforesaid driven pulley 11 to provide a direct drive for the spindle 4, and the motor and pulleys are such that the spindle when in use is rotated at a speed of approximately 900 r.p.m.

A countershaft-drive sleeve 41 with hearing bushes 42 is rotatably mounted on the spindle 4 between the pulley 1'1 and the bearing pedestal 5, and mounted on the end of this sleeve adjacent the pulley 11 is a countershaft-drive pulley 43 which is coupled to the motor 37 by the belt 4 9. A low speed countershaft 44 disposed directly below and parallel to the spindle 4 is rotatably supported in a bearing pedestal 45 which is mounted on a swing arm 46 extending fore and aft of the machine. The arm 46 is pivotally supported at its front end of the machine framework, and its rear end is urged upwardly by a spring which is not illustrated. The countershaft 44 has mounted upon it a wheel 47 provided with a rubber tire 48 through which it is frictionally driven from a serrated central portion 49 of the sleeve 41. At its other end the countershaft 44 is formed with a serrated portion 5t} which frictionally drives the aforementioned friction drive wheel 17 which is also provided with a rubber tire 51. Thus a step-down friction drive is provided both between the sleeve 4-1 and the countershaft 44 and between the countershaft and the turret, and the arrangement is such that in use the conveyor rotates at a speed of approximately 2 =r.p.m. The serrated portion 50 and the wheel 47 are disposed on opposite sides of the bearing pedestal 45 and provide axial location of the countershaft 44 within the latter.

The spring loading of the arm 46 serves to maintain frictional contact in the friction drives and at its rear end the arm 46 has a tapped hole 52 into which can be screwed a handle which projects through a rear aperture in the casing. As shown in FIGURE 2 the arm 46 has an upwardly projecting tongue 53 adjacent its rear end which, by downward and sideways movement of the arm 46, can be latched in engagement with a downwardly directed recess formed in a member 54 welded to the machine framework. In this position of the arm 46 the friction drives are disengaged so that the mop 6 can be driven whilst the turret remains stationary. This is necessary when dressing the mop 6, and at intervals the mop is dressed with a suitable cleaning abrasive whilst the friction drives are disengaged.

The partition 26 is formed with a circular aperture to the right of which, i.e. in the motor drive compartment of the casing, is fitted an extractor fan 55 which extracts the dust-laden air from the cleaning compartment during operation of the machine and expels this air through an exhaust duct leading from the rear of the casing. The spindle 56 of the extractor fan, see FIGURE 1, is supported in two bearing pedestals mounted on spaced rackets such as 57 attached to the framework. A fan pulley between the two pedestals is disposed in line with the pulley 43, and the belt 40 also passes around the fan pulley to drive the latter.

To reduce friction between the brake band 29 and the amazes 7 spacer elements 18, strips such as 58 in FIGURE 3 of a suitable low-friction plastic material are cemented along the radially outer edges of the elements 13. Polyvinylchloride adhesive tape has been found a suitable material for this purpose.

The arrangement of FIGURE 5 is generally similar to that already described, but the machine is modified by the use of an endless driven brake band 61. The brake band travels in the direction shown by the arrows 62., and the band passes around free rollers 63, a spring loaded tension roller 64 and a driven roller 65. During cleaning of an egg the latter rolls along a slowly moving surface, the direction of movement of which is such that the egg makes a greater number of complete rotations during its brushing engagement with the mop 5, arid this improves the cleaning of very dirty eggs.

I claim:

1. A machine for dry-cleaning eggs, comprising in combination a mop rotatably mounted about a fixed axis with an outer periphery contoured to suit the eggs and of a nature suited to the application and retention of an abrasive cleaning compound, a carriage rotatably mounted about said axis and having spacer elements which divide the carriage into an annular series of pockets surrounding the mop periphery with radially open ends, a pretensioned flexible brake band disposed radially outwardly of said carriage around an operative portion of said mop periphery for engagement with a plurality of the eggs in said pockets being brushed by said mop whereby to apply a braking torque to the objects being brushed wd hold them in contact with said mop periphery, means operatively connected to said spacer elements for movement in dependence upon the angular position of said carriage between a position such that an egg placed in an empty pocket of the carriage in a portion of the latter not surrounded by said brake band is initially supported by the corresponding spacer element clear of said mop periphery and a position disposed substantially radially of the carriage in which the egg projects radially inwardly of'the corresponding pocket for engagement with said operative portion of the mop periphery, movement of the spacer elements between said positions being such that the egg is gently lowered into engagement with the mop and such engagement occurs after the object has passed beneath and into engagement with said brake band, rotation of said turret thereafter producing controlled epicyclic movement of the eggs while being cleaned by said mop.

2. A machine for the dry-cleaning of rounded objects, for example eggs, comprising a mop rotatably mounted about a fixed axis, said mop having an outer periphery contoured to suit the shape of the objects, a carriage rotatably mounted about said axis and including support means comprising spacer elements defining an annular series of spaced pockets open in both radial directions and in which a plurality of said objects can be supported in contact with said mop periphery while being cleaned thereby, pre-tensioned brake band arranged radially outwardly of said carriage to hold said objects in said pockets and apply a braking torque thereto while engaged by said mop periphery, and a stationary cam plate disposed alongside said carriage to control the inclination of each of said spacer elements in dependence upon the angular position of said carriage, said spacer elements being arranged to support an object as it passes under a leading end of said brake brand and thereafter on further rotation of said carriage to lower said object gently into engagement with said mop.

3. A machine for the dry-cleaning of rounded objects, comprising in combination a mop rotatably mounted about a fixed axis, said mop having an outer periphery contoured to suit the shape of the objects, a turrent carriage rotatably mounted about said axis and formed to provide an annular series of spaced pockets surrounding said mop in which a plurality of said objects can be supported in contact with said mop periphery while being brushed thereby, said pockets being open in both radial directions and said objects entering and leaving the 7 pockets before and after cleaning respectively through the radially outer ends of said pockets, an endless pre-tensioned brake band surrounding said pockets at the outer ends thereof, over the are around which objects are maintained in contact with the mop during cleaning, to apply a braking torque to the object so that it rotates, when in engagement with the mop, with a peripheral speed considerably less than the peripheral speed of said mop, and driving means to rotate the turret at a much slower speed than the mop and to drive the brake band to increase the number of revolutions made by the objects while being brushed by said mop 4. A machine for dry-cleaning rounded objects, for example eggs, comprising in combination a mop rotatably mounted about a fixed axis with an outer periphery contoured to suit the objects, a carriage rotatably mounted about said axis and having spacer elements which divide the carriage into an annular series of pockets surrounding the mop periphery with radially open ends, a pretensioned flexible brake band disposed radially outwardly of said carriage around an operative portion of said mop periphery for engagement with a plurality of the objects in said pockets being cleaned by said mop whereby to apply a braking torque to the objects being cleaned and hold them in contact with said mop periphery, said spacer elements being arranged for movement in dependence upon the angular position of said carriage between a position such that an object placed in an empty pocket of the carriage in a portion of the latter not surrounded by said brake band is initially supported by the corresponding spacer element clear of said mop periphery and a position disposed substantially radially of the carriage in which the object projects radially inwardly of the correspondin pocket for engagement with said operative portion of the mop periphery, movement of the spacer elements between said positions being such that the object is gently lowered into engagement with the mop and such engagement occurs after the object has passed beneath and into engagement with said brake band, and a stationary cam track disposed alongside said carriage and acting to vary the inclination of said spacer elements in dependence upon their angular position relatively to the mop.

5. A machine according to claim 4, wherein the spacer elements are pivotally mounted in the carriage adjacent their radially outer ends and individually connected to link arms which carry at their free ends rollers running in said cam track.

6. A machine for dry-cleaning eggs, comprising in combination a mop rotatably mounted about a fixed axis, said mop having an outer periphery contoured to suit the shape of the objects and to which a dressing of an abrasive compound can be applied and will adhere, a

turret carriage rotatably mounted about said axis, said carriage being formed to provide an annular series of spaced pockets surrounding said mop in which a plurality of said eggs can be supported in contact with said mop periphery while being cleaned thereby, said pockets having open radially outer ends through which the eggs enter and leave the pockets before and after cleaning respectively, said pockets including means to gently position the eggs into contact with said mop, and a flexible brake band arranged radially outwardly of said carriage to hold the eggs even when of widely differing size in contact with said mop periphery while being cleaned and to apply a braking torque thereto as the eggs are traversed around the mop periphery, and driving means for said mop and carriage which rotate the carriage at a much slower speed than said mop to produce a controlled epicyclic movement of the eggs and traverse the latter around the mop periphery while being cleaned thereby.

7. A machine for the dry-cleaning of eggs, comprising in combination a mop rotatably mounted about a fixed axis, said mop having an outer periphery contoured to suit the shape of the eggs and or" a nature suited to the application and retention a dressing of an abrasive cleaning compound, a carria e rotatably mounted about said axis, said carriage being formed With an annular series of radially open spaced pockets in which a plurality of said eggs can be supported in contact with said mop periphery while being brushed thereby, said pockets including means to gently position the eggs into contact with said mop, a pre-tensioned flexible brake band disposed radially outwardly of said carriage to engage the eggs even when of Widely differing size and to apply a braking torque to the eggs so that they rotate, When in engagement with the mop, With a peripheral speed considerably less than the peripheral speed of said mop, means for rotating said carriage at a slower speed than said mop to produce a controlled epicyclic traversing movement of the eggs around the mop, an inclined supply chute for feeding the eggs by gravity into said pockets through the radial outer ends thereof, and an inclined 16 delivery chute on to which the eggs are delivered from said pockets through said radial outer ends at the end of said traversing movement and after cleaning by said mop.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,776,784 Cramer Sept. 30, 1930 1,389,809 Nielsen Dec. 6, 932 2,287,447 Peeples June 23, 1942 2,529,090 Lesher Nov. 7, 1950 2,555,193 Johnson May 29', 1951 2,627,140 Marzolf Feb. 3, 1953 2,691,786 Reading Oct. 19', 1954 2,725,686 Ash Dec. 6, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 297,230 Great Britain Sept. 20, 1928 308,218 Switzerland Sept. 16, 1955 

6. A MACHINE FOR DRY-CLEANING EGGS, COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A MOP ROTATABLY MOUNTED ABOUT A FIXED AXIS, SAID MOP HAVING AN OUTER PERIPHERY CONTOURED TO SUIT THE SHAPE OF THE OBJECTS AND TO WHICH A DRESSING OF AN ABRASIVE COMPOUND CAN BE APPLIED AND WILL ADHERE, A TURRET CARRIAGE ROTATABLY MOUNTED ABOUT SAID AXIS, SAID CARRIAGE BEING FORMED TO PROVIDE AN ANNULAR SERIES OF SPACED POCKETS SURROUNDING SAID MOP IN WHICH A PLURALITY OF SAID EGGS CAN BE SUPPORTED IN CONTACT WITH SAID MOP PERIPHERY WHILE BEING CLEANED THEREBY, SAID POCKETS HAVING OPEN RADIALLY OUTER ENDS THROUGH WHICH THE EGGS ENTER AND LEAVE THE POCKETS BEFORE AND AFTER CLEANING RESPECTIVELY, SAID POCKETS INCLUDING MEANS FOR GENTLY POSITION THE EGGS INTO CONTACT WITH SAID MOP, AND A FLEXIBLE BRAKE BAND ARRANGED RADIALLY OUTWARDLY OF SAID CARRIAGE TO HOLD THE EGGS EVEN WHEN OF WIDELY DIFFERING SIZE IN CONTACT WITH SAID MOP PERIPHERY WHILE BEING CLEANED AND TO APPLY A BRAKIN TORQUE THERETO AS THE EGGS ARE TRAVERSED AROUND THE MOP PERIPHERY, AND DRIVING MEANS FOR SAID MOP AND CARRIAGE WHICH ROTATE THE CARRIAGE AT A MUCH SLOWER SPEED THAN SAID MOP TO PRODUCE A CONTROLLED EPICYCLIC MOVEMENT OF THE EGGS AND TRAVERSE THE LATTER AROUND THE MOP PERIPHERY WHILE BEING CLEANED THEREBY. 